USS Queenfish (SSN 651)
		     Polar Expedition - Summer 1970
							  5 August 1970
Greetings from the top of the world. thought you might like to have
this letter commemorating the surfacing of the USS QUEENFISH (SSN 651)
at the Geographic North Pole today.
The OUEENFISH is the seventh nuclear submarine to transit under the
Arctic ice pack and reach the North Pole. This comes almost twelve
Years to the day the first historic "90 North" position report
made by the USS NAUTILUS (SSN 571). The NAUTILUS did not surface
while at the North Pole, but a little less than one year later, the
USS SKATE made its way through the Arctic ice to accomplish the first 
surfacing at the pole.
In addition to proving the practicality of submarine operations in
the Arctic Ocean and adding a new dimension to our defense of the
North American Continent, operations such as this have yielded a
wealth of scientific and oceanographic information, For example,
the track followed by the QUEENFISH carefully duplicated the 1958
under ice track of the NAUTILUS. From the the data we were able to
obtain, scientists may be able to determine what changes the past
12 years have brought to the Arctic ice profile.
I am therefore pleased to have the opportunity to send you this
letter as a memento of our cruise beneath the Arctic ice pack.